


Lacebound

by LalaMBS98, lovesick-for-you (AnnSmith)



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: I don't know., I'm being serious, Like, M/M, Maybe at the end, Teen Angst, Well - Freeform, and poor keith too, angst in generall, he's gonna suffer through this, he's gonna suffer too, i just really like making people feel bad, i know its cliche, its a soulmate au for gods sake, lance is just a really anxious little bean., maybe not as fluffy as you'd expect, poor lance, there you go, this is my gift to this fandom., we're all gonna suffer through this, what would you expect
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-16
Updated: 2016-10-11
Packaged: 2018-08-15 07:04:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,361
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8046898
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LalaMBS98/pseuds/LalaMBS98, https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnnSmith/pseuds/lovesick-for-you
Summary: There weren't many things that would upset Lance. but having an asshole as a soulmate could be included in that list. When he was younger, he hadn't understood much about the whole string thing; but now he wished he didn't have to know its meaning. lance was already a train wreck. he didn't need another disaster to come and crash at his side. Keith didn't like to have someone bound to him. he wasn't the kind of guy to stay till morning. he didn't want to know that there was someone waiting for him. all he knew is that he wouldn't wait for anyone. but then his life plans got screwed and spit on, so of course it would get worse.titled Never break before.





	1. Strings

**Author's Note:**

> :)

He was 5 years old when they explained him what the string meant. 

Apparently, everyone had a string attached to their pinky finger, that was connected to their soulmate. This was a magical connection with the one you would spend the rest of your life with. The string was, as you may have guessed, magical. But not in just one way. The string changed color with the way your soulmate would be feeling. It was made that way, so that you could know the moments your soulmate felt the happiest. Why? Because that’s how the world worked. What was its purpose? Well, this one day, the string would tug your pinky, and you’d follow it to your soulmate. What if he missed the tug? He wouldn’t. When was the tug going to happen? When he was ready. How would he know if he was ready? He would feel the tug. Did that happen at a certain age? God Lance please stop asking questions.

 

Easy enough; live ignoring it, and then one day just give it your whole attention because that day you’ll find the person you’re destined to be with, for the rest of your life. Except it wasn’t that easy. How was Lance supposed to live his life normally, when people all across the town or even the country would be stepping on his string? It could get tangled somewhere, stretched even! Lance didn’t want to lose his soulmate forever, just because of some inconvenience that caused the string to break. But he couldn’t just walk around with the string in his hands, trying to maneuver it to avoid any danger, all day long (He had already tried). 

 

He had first thought, that people wouldn’t be so careless and just stomp around, stepping on everyone’s strings. But then they stomped on his string, and he learned to mistrust the kindness of people. After a week of this going on, his parents sat him down for a talk. 

 

They told him that he had been acting oddly the past few days, and that they didn’t know if it was because of the string, or something else. He was outraged! Of course it was because of the string! It was basically the most important thing in his life, and people were just stepping on it as if it was nothing!

 

His dad laughed wholeheartedly and just looked at him with love.

 

“Nothing will happen to your string, Lance”

 

“How are you so sure dad?”

 

“Because I met your mom. And I met her because nothing happened to my string.” His father said as he  
gave Lance’s mother a kind smile. It was so uselessly kind and pure, that Lance hesitated in his next question.

 

“M-maybe you were just really lucky!”

 

“Or maybe the string didn’t break because it can’t”

“It can’t?” that came as a surprise, and so he stopped moving and started looking at his father with curiosity.

 

“No darling. It can’t break,” his dad said ”So don’t you worry about anything happening to your string, because it will never break. You’ll always be connected to your soul mate no matter what.”

 

 

 

He was 10 when his string turned gray. He had been looking at some of his cartoons when on his rearview sight he saw the slight change. That hadn’t happened ever before. And it was scary. He suddenly got up and started running towards his parents, asking for an explanation. They just sat him down once again and with a pitying look, gave him a little paper. In it, he could clearly see dots of colors, and next to them, feelings. 

 

He wasted no time, and searched for the color gray. It didn’t take long, and soon he found himself staring at the most awful feeling ever. Mourn. His soulmate was mourning something. What were they mourning? Why were they sad? Had something happened to them? Were they alright?? He didn’t want his soulmate to feel this way! He wanted to make it stop! He wanted to kiss it better! He wanted to do anything to make his soulmate stop feeling so sad. But he realised he had never felt so far away…

 

But he wouldn’t give up. He had to get to them somehow. And so he had taken the string, and started following it. His parents had yelled at him to stop, but he wouldn’t listen. He had to go and do something. He reached the last of his neighborhood, and just kept going. It wasn’t until he heard his dad yell at him, that he stopped in his tracks.

 

Just as he looked around, he felt a quick rush or air pass just beside him. He looked back around, just in time to see the end of a truck that had been passing through. It had been mostly ten inches apart from him. He could have been struck, if he hadn’t looked at his dad. He suddenly felt a pull from his sweater, and he stumbled down into his mother’s arms.

She was crying. Pouring freely, thousands of tears while telling him that everything was okay. That he was okay, and that it was alright. She started rocking him back and forwards, while repeating her mantra, which seemed to be said mostly to reassure herself more than him.

Then his dad looked at him in the eyes, and told him that what he had just done, had been extremely reckless, and idiotic. That that was not how the string worked, and that it would only guide him to his soulmate, when the time was right.

 

But lance didn’t want to wait. He didn’t want to know when his soulmate was suffering, and not be able to do anything about it. He didn’t want to feel so powerless. So useless. That’s when he started to cry.

 

 

He was 15 years old when he met an anomaly. Pidge didn’t have a string; or at least that’s what they told everyone, and because you were the only one able to see your own string, they all believed him. On top of that, although people without strings were rare, they existed. And Pidge was one of them. Pidge was able to be alone.

 

When Lance first found out, he couldn’t help the little pang of jealousy that passed through him. Pidge didn’t have to worry every day about their soulmate. They didn’t have to worry if their soul mate would like them or not, or if they would like their soulmate or not. They didn’t have to do anything related to the stuff, and Lance wanted that.

 

He did want a soulmate, don’t get him wrong; but he also wanted to be able to forget about it sometimes. Lance was a worrier. That was no lie, but it kind of sucked when most of his days were plagued by thoughts of his future, and everything that came with it, and being unable to do anything about it. He didn’t want to have those panic attacks every time his string turned a dull blue, or every time it shone a dark crimson. He wanted to follow the string more than anything., and just not let go until he reached his soulmate.

 

He didn’t really know if that was even possible, but that didn’t stop him from thinking about it at 3 am. His soulmate could be walking any day, and something terrible could happen to them. They could fall down and be rolled over by a car, or they could get kidnapped, or maybe even assaulted. He wanted to just go and not stop. But every time he tried, he would lose the string’s track. It would just somehow slip from his hands, and he would have to start all over again.

 

Why was it so frustrating!

 

 

He was 17 years old when his best friend found his soulmate. Hunk was the whole package: He was cute, but also really confident in some things. He was tall but just the right size for the best hugs. And he also cooked like heaven. Lance had known him for almost his whole life, and he knew that Hunk deserved the moon. And he made sure Hunk knew that. He was so sweet and caring, and gentle and friendly, but also really sarcastic at times, and funny too! Hunk was the best of friends, and he deserved the best of the best.

 

They were at history class when hunk felt the tug. He immediately stopped writing and just stared at his notebook in shock. Then, he felt the tug again, and he just stood up and told the teacher that he had felt the tug. The teacher had just looked at him in amazement, and told him to go on! To find the love of his life! 

 

And so that’s what Hunk did. Everyone in the classroom scrambled after him, because he was the first of the class to find his soulmate. It was basically the first time they would see someone finding their soulmate. Everyone was nervous, but lance could feel the fear hunk was feeling at that moment. And knowing him, he would just stop in front of whichever door connected him to his soulmate and wait outside, still deciding if it was safe for him to go in. And that’s exactly what he did. And so lance touched his shoulder and with a concerned look, started talking to him.

 

“Hunk? What’s wrong buddy?” 

 

“I’m just really scared Lance. They’re right after this door. I can feel it, but, what if something changes?” he said still looking at the door. “What if, they don’t like me? What if I don’t like them? I’m supposed to spend the rest of my life with them Lance! I’m only sixteen!”

 

Lance knew those questions all too well. They were the same questions he asked himself every day. But this was Hunk. And Hunk was a nervous wreck ball, and if he needed some reassurance right now, that’s what Lance was going to give him.

“None of that will happen Hunk. Don’t ask me if I’m sure, because I’m not. But if there’s one thing I do know, is that you deserve the best soulmate ever. And the universe must know that. And if it doesn’t, we can always run away! But don’t you worry right now. Because right know, you’re about to meet the best soulmate ever.”

 

That did it. Hunk took a deep breath, looked at lance one last time, and opened the door. Just after he opened it, we all saw a girl about his age, stop in her tracks towards the door, and stare at him open mouthed. She was tall, bell-built, with golden eyes and pretty short brown hair. She stared at him in silence while Hunk only gaped at her. Hesitantly, they both gave a few steps forward, and took each other’s hand. 

 

As soon as they touched, a wave of static passed through all of them. It felt electrifying, but at the same time it felt warm and welcoming. As soon as the wave hit, it disappeared. And Hunk and the pretty girl hugged. 

 

Her name was Shay. She had been looking at the school while her parents were filling out the paperwork to register her in. Lance had been reluctant at first, but once he saw Hunk’s eyes shine like that, he decided Shay couldn't that bad. She came from a weird far away country on where-the-fuck, and was 16 years old. Just like Hunk. She was sweet, and kind, with a smile that could basically melt. So, yeah, she was good.

 

He was 19 when he decided to ask.


	2. pictures

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :) I LOVED THE LOVE YOU GAVE ME. SORRY FOR THE LOOONG HIATUS. NOT HAPPENING AGAIN

He was nineteen when he decided to ask. This was normally the age at which people would be finding their soulmates at last. It wasn’t stipulated that way, but it usually went along those lines. There were always those few that met their soulmate later on, but those were usually rare. 19 was the oldest age for them to find their other half. Those who hadn’t met theirs once they turned 20 were usually frowned upon.

So this was basically his last year. Everyone had already met theirs. Or at least everyone he knew. He was the only one in his class that still hadn’t found his, and the looks of pity that came when he told anyone, were overwhelming. They just told him that this year was going to be his lucky one. That they couldn’t wait to meet the wonderful person he would so surely love. That he would charm his soulmate immediately. That whoever this person was, they were pretty lucky to have him as their soulmate. 

 

And he would bluff his way out of it. He would say that the reason they hadn’t met yet, was that his soulmate wasn’t ready for his charm. That of course his soulmate was lucky! He was the whole package, and more! That his soulmate would melt once they saw him. That his soulmate wanted to wait to be legal, just so that they could have some fun once they met. That-

Those were all lies. All that good old confidence he was so obviously born with, was all propaganda. He didn’t think any of that. In fact, he actually thought the exact opposite. He thought that his soulmate would find him annoying. He thought that his soulmate wouldn’t find him attractive. He honestly thought his soulmate didn’t want to meet him.

Was that normal? To think that your soulmate didn’t want to meet you? To think that, the reason why it was taking so long was because deep down, he was scared? Scared that his soulmate wouldn’t be what he would have been expecting? Was thinking about all this doing any good to him? No.

It wasn’t okay. It was wrong that he thought so badly of himself, but it was even worse to connect that to his invisible soulmate. He knew he should stop thinking like that. He tried to ignore it. But that only got him so far.

 

They were at Hunks house, over at a sleepover with Pidge and Shay. It was half past 2 and Lance still couldn’t fall asleep. And he knew that Hunk was in a similar situation, because of the lack of snores. He had known Hunk for almost his entire life, and he knew he wasn’t a silent sleeper.

“Hey, pssst Hunk, you awake?”

“Well, not anymore Lance.”

“Oh, please, I know you weren’t asleep. You weren’t even snoring!”

“You know I don’t snore, but what’s your point?”

“I just- I couldn’t sleep.”

“Have you tried counting sheep?”

“Yes! It’s just- that’s not the problem.”

“Then what’s keeping you up buddy?”

“It’s my string.”

“Oh. What’s wrong with it? Is it blue again?”

“No. I’m just scared. I’m scared of my future Hunk. And I know I can’t run away from it.”

“Lance what is it?”

“This is my last year Hunk. This is basically my last chance to meet my other half. And I’m already 5 months behind!”

“Lance, this is not your last year, much less your last opportunity. You still have your whole life. Who cares if this is normally the age? You’re not supposed to stick to those stupid rules,” he said stifling a yawn. “Lance you’ll be fine I’m sure of it.”

“How can you be sure? “

“Because you once told me the same thing. And I believed in you. Now I want you to believe in me.”

“Hunk we were 16 for god’s sake. “

“But look at us now Lance. Have we not gone through everything, and still been here?”

“Hunk you sound like a cheap poet”

“If only I got paid for my wisdom…”

 

That looked like the end of the conversation. But Lance didn’t see it that way, like at all. He still had a lot of things to say, to discuss, to cry about, but Hunk was falling asleep and so he just asked what had been troubling his mind for several years.

“Hunk, what does it feel like?”

“hmmmm?”

“Meeting your soulmate. Meeting the one you’ll spend your life with.”

“I think it feels different for everyone. I personally felt kind of warm and finally at ease. I felt like even though things weren’t cleared out, if I could spend those decisive times with her, I could go through it all. I felt like there was finally something constant in my life. She wasn’t going to disappear. She was going to stay with me through our ups and downs.” 

“Wow Hunk that was so deep.”

“Nah dude. I’m actually being serious. And I don’t know how it’ll feel for you, but I know it’ll clear all your doubts. It’ll probably feel like a bucket of cold water, and you’ll wake up from all this questions. You’ll ask yourself; how did I ever think it wasn’t going to work?”

“I hope so Hunk. I really do.”

“Don’t worry buddy I’m sure of it.”

 

It was 7 months later when Pidge came through, crying their eyes out. They all were at Lance’s and Pidge had run off to attend a call. It hadn’t been long until they came back though, and soon followed muffled screams that barely made it out from Hunk’s hug. They both didn’t ask for an explanation as to why Pidge was so sad. They both didn’t need one.

Their brother had been at the army for almost one year. He’d been called a while ago, and while he didn’t really fight, (he was more useful on the hacking side) he usually had to go to tons of different places to do the undercover hacking thing. Matt said he liked it a lot. He said that the thrill it gave him was great, and that a bigger bonus to it, was finding his soulmate there. 

But sooner or later, he was bound to get caught. Pidge had known. They had known but they all though it wouldn’t happen. Not to him. Not to Matt. Matt was too smart. He could easily escape anything that could go his way. But he wasn’t fast enough this time.

It hadn’t been foreseen this time. They had been flying to another one of those places where Matt would be entering international security systems. When Pidge had asked where, they wouldn’t tell him. Matt had died somewhere, and the fucking government wouldn’t even tell them where it had been. They’d told Pidge that the reason was some bullshit about national security. They would have to mourn an empty coffin, and just because the government didn’t even care about another soul, lost to the hundreds of tries at a lost cause. 

They said it had been a piloting mistake. They said that the coordinates had been wrong. That they’d flown into radar territory, and that after that, it had all gone south. They were calling it a minor disaster. The death of two of the three people aboard the plane had been a minor disaster. The only one that had survived the crash, was still on a coma, and according to the government, he had barely made it out.

 

 

Shiro was the worse for wear. They hadn’t lied when they had said that he hadn't been able to come back completely. His right arm had been lost to the crash. Pidge had wanted to know for sure what had happened, and so they had hacked into the system to know where the government was keeping their brother’s soulmate. They had found out, and went there immediately. Shiro was on a hospital bed when Lance first met him. He had already heard stuff about him from Matt, but he had never seen him in person. He was everything Matt had said. The same white turf of hair, the same scar on his nose, the same face that told you he’d seen things no one else had. The nurses said he wouldn’t be up for about two more days, and so Pidge organized a day to come and visit him

Pidge was past the government’s lies. They knew that they weren’t telling them something. And they had to know what had happened. They had to know the truth about his brother.

 

Shiro woke up just like the nurses said, two days later. He woke up to see three young adults looking at him with expectant eyes, and he only recognized one pair of eyes. They were the same shade of brown he knew so well. This was his brother. This was Pidge, and they wanted answers. And so he gave them the answers they needed. Yes, he had been the pilot. No there hadn’t been any piloting mistakes. They had been ambushed. Yes, the plane had crashed. No he didn’t remember anything about the flight. No, he didn’t remember where it was. Y-yes. He was the only survivor.

That broke both of them. Lance saw as Pidge stared in shock into Shiro’s eyes, and he saw as Shiro slowly began to digest his own words. Lance saw two worlds break at the same time, and he knew that it would take a long way until they could get put back together.

The doctors had soon entered the room, and they separated Pidge from Shiro’s hold, saying that only close family members could enter the room. Those were obviously lies, as they'd come some days before and none of that had applied. The government had found out about them, and the doctors were their way of politely saying; get the fuck away from this person.

Lance knew this. Hunk knew this. Even Pidge knew. The doctors told them that unless one of them was Keith Kogane, they could go away. So they did, but not before Pidge could flip them off..

Pidge knew he had lost his brother. But they also knew that Shiro had lost someone too. He had lost his soulmate. And so they found comfort in each other on the hard times. They stayed together, and they didn’t let go of each other during the whole funeral. And Lance did all he could to make things easier for both of them.

 

He was 22 when Shiro asked him about his soulmate. They had been waiting for Pidge to go take the milkshakes they had ordered, when Shiro gasped. Lance looked at him startled, before Shiro realized he’d been pretty loud.

“Im sorry Lance, I didn’t mean to startle you, I just. I saw a boy with a mullet enter, and I thought it was my brother. But he just told me he was about to cut it last week, and he isn’t even living here.”

Shiro didn’t talk much about his brother. He apparently had had a fight with him when he had left for the government, but ever since he had gotten out of the hospital, he had started to talk to him again. His brother didn’t know at all about the plane crash; because Shiro knew that if he found out, he would have worried too much, making him say it was his fault. So his brother thought Shiro’s arm had gotten an infection and had to be amputated, but nothing more.

Shiro had said his name was Keith, and that he lived a few towns away studying at a university he had struggled a lot to get in. That was all Lance really knew about him, so he was surprised when Shiro brought him up.

“Your brother has a mullet? How did that work?? At least you have style!”

“ Hahahaha yeah I got the good looks for both of us, huh? But to answer your question, yes. He has one, and he has had it for quite a long time, but he just told me last week he was thinking of cutting it. And you want to hear the reason to that? It was getting kinda hot in his apartment, and he was sweating too much. So you know what? He’s decided to get an undercut. Just because it was getting hot. Like, he doesn’t even care about how he looks, as long as it’s practical. i even feel bad for his soulmate.”

“pfffft yeah poor soul.”

“hahaha yeah can’t wait ‘till he finds one.”

“Wait. He hasn’t found his soulmate yet?”

Well, that was a surprise. Lance didn’t know anyone else that hadn’t met his or her soulmate. Keith was a first. He didn’t know that much about him, but he was starting to like the guy.

“Nope. An I’m not even sure he even wants to.”

“Why wouldn’t he want to meet his soulmate?”

“Well, he has kind of always hated on the strings thing you know? And he has some good reasons,”

“Reasons…?”

“It’s not in my place to tell you, so I won’t, but, lets just say he has never wanted to be chained to a person.”

That was a new point of view. Lance had always thought that the soulmate thing was kind of infuriating at least, but he thought of his soulmate with love (although not with love for him). He couldn’t imagine someone thinking of theirs with anything less.

“And you?”

“Huh? What about me?”

“What about you? Any soulmate yet?”

“Huh. Nope. Haven’t found mine.”

The yet was still there implicitly. They both knew that there was still time.

“But I hope I find them. Not like your brother the 80’s nerd”

“pffffft 80’s nerd. Ill tell him you called him that.”

“You’ve told him about us?”

“Of course! He knows that I have ‘three loser friends’. At least that’s what he calls you three.”

“Hey! You better tell him that these losers are way cooler than him!”

“Hahah, I sure will.”

 

That’s when lance noticed that Pidge had taken a while taking the milkshakes, and he went looking for them. He found them talking to a newly arrived Hunk, with a pretty looking Shay by his side. He greeted them and they all went to sit down next to Shiro.

It was a nice afternoon. Even his string turned a sweet caramel, showing content.

 

He first saw Keith’s picture, 5 months later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :)

**Author's Note:**

> :')


End file.
